Secure Backup: Solves TWO Problems

A Better Way: Backup + Security

Have you ever had a virus infection on your computer, and thought you could solve the problem by restoring everything from your last backup? Of course, that only works if your backup is free of viruses and other cyber-nasties. I've written about MalwareBytes Anti-Malware (MBAM) several times, and it's one of my favorite Internet security tools. A new product, MalwareBytes Secure Backup, combines the excellent malware cleaning power of MBAM with a cloud backup service to solve two problems at once.

Malwarebytes Secure Backup consists of three parts: a backup/restore utility, the Malwarebytes Anti-Malware program (free or paid version), and a cloud storage service provided by SOS Online Backup. Selected files are scanned by MBAM before they are copied to the cloud (or your local storage device, optionally). Infected files are skipped and flagged for review and cleaning. Only clean files are copied to the cloud or your local storage device.

A nice bonus is that you can share files stored in the cloud by sending an email or Facebook message to the recipient through the SOS Online Backup Web interface. The message will include URLs for the selected files that the recipient can click to download the files from your SOS Online locker. (See BACKUP: Carbonite, Mozy, or Crashplan? for background on cloud backup services, and some popular options.)

Files are encrypted using AES technology before they are copied to the cloud. They are transmitted over an encrypted SSL connection, and encrypted again when they arrive in your cloud storage locker. Only you have the key that decrypts stored files. If you lose it, your data is unrecoverable. On the other hand, if the government forces SOS Online to turn over your data, it remains unreadable without YOUR key.

And it seems like SOS has all the physical security bases covered, with 24-hour video surveillance, smoke and fire suppression, redundant backup power, and advanced RAID configurations to prevent data loss.

The Price is Right...

A free trial is available, so you have nothing to lose. The annual charges for this service are $29.95 for 50GB of storage, $59.95 for 100GB, and $119.95 for 200GB. That includes an unlimited number of PCs and other devices running Windows, iOS, or Android. (The latter two operating systems power smartphones and tablets.)

However, it’s not clear how Android and iOS files get scanned for malware; only a Windows version of MBAM is available. The SOS Online backup/restore utility is available in iOS and Android flavors.

Interestingly, Malwarebytes is charging considerably less for storage space than SOS Online charges directly, and SOS Online charges an additional fee for each device over five per account. SOS Online has been around since 2001 and has won several awards for its reliability, speed, and usability. This partnership with Malwarebytes appears to be an attempt to increase the company’s share of the consumer marketplace. SOS Online also offers business and enterprise cloud backup solutions. Malwarebytes, popular in the consumer space, is trying to step up into the business/enterprise market.

Malwarebytes Secure Backup is an interesting addition to the cloud backup market. It’s priced reasonably, at about half of what Mozy and Carbonite charge. It remains to be seen how it works in practice, but given the sterling track record of the companies providing the service, it sounds like a winner.

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